


Believe

by Walea23



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bets & Wagers, Brotp, Christmas, F/M, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Humor, KaraMel, Karamel Secret Santa 2019, Light Angst, Romance, Santa Clause, Santa's Elves, Santa's Workshop, Secret Mission, Shenanigans, monwinn, monwinn BROTP
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:48:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21863992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Walea23/pseuds/Walea23
Summary: Mon-el and Winn are on the hunt for Santa. Will they find him or is he just a story like Kara thinks?
Relationships: Kara Danvers & Mon-El, Kara Danvers/Mon-El
Comments: 22
Kudos: 30





	1. The bet

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cassier556](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cassier556/gifts).



> Canon divergent: Set after S3. Mon-El and Winn stay in the 21st Century, Lena is not in the picture, Eve is good, J’onn is still head of the DEO and Snappers come back from sabbatical.

_Your honour, a lot of people believe in Mr. Kringle, including millions of children. If you rule against him, you won't destroy anyone's belief, just the man they believe in.  
_

_Mr. Kringle is not concerned for himself. If he was, he wouldn't be here. He is in this regrettable position because he is willing to sacrifice himself for children to create in their minds a world far better than the one we've made for them._

_If this is, as Mr. Collins suggests, a masquerade, then Mr. Kringle is eager to forfeit his freedom to preserve that masquerade, to subject himself to prosecution, to protect the children's right to believe._

_If this court finds that Mr. Kringle is not who he says he is, that there is no Santa Claus, then I would ask the court to judge which is worse-- A lie that draws a smile, or a truth... that draws a tear?_

_I rest my case._

Mr. Bedford’s closing argument, Miracle on 34th Street

* * *

It was all quiet on Hope Street, in apartment 4B. The only sound that could be heard was the noise from the television. Kara and Mon-el had just finished putting up the Christmas decorations and decided to watch Miracle of 34th Street after Mon-el had admitted to never having seen it.

The movie was just coming to its climax with Mr. Bedford making his closing argument when the Daxamite spoke, breaking the silence in the room.

“I know everyone says Santa isn’t real but maybe he is.”

“What?” Kara who had been intensely focused on film, wasn’t sure she’d just heard him right. From her comfortable position wrapped in Mon-el’s embrace, she tilted her head up and stared at him for a beat trying to process his words, before moving out of his arms to reach for the remote. Putting the movie on pause, Kara turned to her boyfriend to give him her full attention.

“I’m just saying, maybe Mr. Bedford is right,” he said gesturing towards the TV. “No one can prove that Santa doesn’t exist and all these myths and legends have to have some basis in reality.”

“Mon-el, Santa can’t be real. There is no way on earth that a man can fly around the world and deliver billions of presents in one night.” Kara couldn’t quite believe she was having this conversation, with a grown man.

“You and your cousin can fly faster than the speed of sound. Not so long ago people would have said you were impossible.”

“But…” Kara was at a loss for words. “This is different,” she argued.

Mon-el pushed back from Kara slightly, a sinking sensation forming in the pit of his stomach. He couldn’t understand why Kara was being so resistant to the idea that a powerful being, not unlike herself, was hiding his identity from the world just so he could make children happy and bring joy to so many. They had both seen so many strange and wonderful things in their lives that the possibility of St. Nick existing should have been plausible to her. Not wanting her to immediately dismiss his opinion, he carried on,

“I mean what proof is there, really? That no one’s seen him? That the North Pole is just ice? We don’t know how it works.”

“If there was a sleigh flying around the earth, I’m pretty sure the DEO would have picked up the signal by now,” Kara tried to reason.

“It could have cloaking technology.”

“So Santa’s an alien?” Kara laughed out loud at the thought.

“He could be,” Mon-el slightly offended she would react that way, especially given they were both aliens themselves.

Kara seeing his shoulders growing stiff and a knot beginning to form between his brows, leaned towards him and put her hand on his cheek stroking it gently. She silently compelled him to look at her, hating it when Mon-el thought he was somehow failing or disappointing her.

Never able to keep his attention away from Kara’s for long, Mon-el looked directly into her comet blue eyes which were full of affection and sincerity.

“Babe, I love that you want to believe Santa exists, it’s sweet, just maybe… don’t tell the entire world,” she said, acknowledging him but worrying about him making a fool of himself. This wasn’t a movie, this was real life and Kara knew that he would be ridiculed if he spread his theories around the alien bar or the DEO.

“You think it’s weird?” Mon-el looked at her deflated.

“No!” She hurriedly tried to defend herself. “Not weird…. just a little odd maybe…” Seeing his eyes turn a shade darker with hurt, she corrected herself again, “…but there’s nothing wrong with odd. I love odd, I love you,” she responded kissing him lightly, to which he immediately responded by kissing her back.

“I love you too but I’m going to prove to you he exists,” Mon-el replied with a determined voice, pulling away from the kiss.

“And if he doesn’t?” Kara questioned with a raised brow. He really would not let this go, she should have known, he never let go of anything easily these days. Where before Mon-el would have brushed the idea under the rug or given up, he now stood and fought, as she taught him, as a hero should. She was so proud of how far he had come, of the man he was now, but she couldn’t help but wonder why he would choose Santa of all things to be so stubborn about. Then again, Kara wasn’t someone who backed down easily either.

“You wanna bet?” Mon-el asked, flashing her a smouldering look (the one Kara called 'the Flynn Rider’) his eyes lighting up at the idea of a wager.

“Sure, why not,” Kara nodded, never one to turn down a challenge. Kara sat up, straitening her posture, a resolute look in her eyes. She bounced slightly in anticipation, curious to hear what Mon-el was willing to put on the line for this. “What’s the forfeit?”

“If you’re wrong…” Mon-el paused and took a minute to think before his eyes started sparkling with mischief. Kara almost stopped breathing, the smirk on her face morphing into a fearful expression. She knew that look all too well, and it was never good. “If you’re wrong, then you have to announce to the entire world Santa exists and wear a Santa hat and elf shoes as Supergirl for the rest of the holiday season!”

Kara jaw dropped, there was no way she was wearing elf shoes!

“I’ll do no such thing!”

“Why? You scared of losing?” Mon-el goaded waggling his eyebrows, knowing that it always worked Kara up.

“No! You’re the one that will have to cook every meal for the next two months-“

“I cook most of the time anyway,” Mon-el pointed out.

“I’m not finished,” Kara put a finger on his lips to shush him. “And… go on holiday with me to New York for my birthday and take me to see the Lion King on Broadway, hah!” she finished with a triumphant look on her face.

Mon-el gaped at her for a moment before pulling Kara towards him.

“I guess I’ll have to pick up more shifts if I’m going to pay for all of that,” he said as he kissed her on her nose.

“So you admit that I’m going to win?”

“No,” Mon-el shook his head. “On the contrary. But my girl deserves her heart’s desire and if that’s the Lion King then I will try to make that happen, bet or no bet.”

Kara melted at his words, pushing forward to kiss him fervently in gratitude. How had she gotten so lucky? Not once since landing on earth did she think she would end up with a man like Mon-el, yet here she was.

Mon-el returned the kiss, deepening it and pulling Kara into his lap. She threw her arms around his neck moving her body so there was no gap between them. They both lost themselves in the moment, enjoying the feel of one another and relishing in the overwhelming sense of love they shared. It wasn’t until Kara felt Mon-el’s hand begin to creep under her shirt that she was brought back to reality and she remembered what they were discussing.

Not wanting Mon-el to think she was trying to minimise what they’d spoken about, Kara reluctantly extracted herself from his warm grasp.

“You’re really going to do this?” Kara studied his face, trying to find any sign that he was joking.

“Yep, and when you’re hitching a ride on Santa’s sleigh you can tell me how right I was,” Mon-el said cheekily immediately lightening the mood.

“Alright, Mr. Cocky. We’ll see,” Kara said, hitting him lightly on the shoulder in jest.

“Come here” Mon-el motioned for Kara to move once again into his lap and snuggle with him.

Grabbing the remote, Mon-el re-started the movie. “Buckle up, you’re in for a long night of Christmas films, I need all the evidence I can get.”

Smiling and laughing quietly to herself, Kara brought the blanket up around them and burrowed her head into Mon-el’s shoulder. She may have thought his decision to look for Santa was a fool’s errand, but at that moment she didn’t care. The streets were quiet; she was in the arms of the man she loved and was looking forward to an evening of rest, relaxation and Christmas.


	2. Operation: Tiny Tim

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mon-el recruits Winn to help him with his search for Santa.

Winn sat at his desk, mindlessly scrolling through the latest police reports, hoping to find something, anything that would keep him busy. The DEO was quiet, too quiet. Ever since Mon-el had begun helping Supergirl on missions, the crime rate in National City had plummeted. Now that he had learnt to fly, “Supervalor” - as Winn dubbed them - had become so efficient that J’onn got a call from the Police Chief asking them to leave something for the cops to do. Even with Kara and Mon-el taking time off, there were no real crimes to report.

It was therefore a welcome relief when his best friend came strolling into the DEO just before lunch.

“Mon-el, my favourite Daxamite!” Winn excitedly swivelled in his desk chair to face the approaching alien.

“Hey Winn, what’s up?”

“Oh you know… busy keeping an eye on those police scanners,” Winn said, turning and pointing to the screens full of data.

“Trying to avoid paperwork?” Mon-el saw right through his friend’s lie.

“No!” Winn squeaked defensively. One look at Mon-el told him that he wasn’t falling for it. “Ok, yes but you would too. Just yesterday J’onn made me input and catalogue all the DEO data from WW2. WW2 Mon-el! All they had back then were telegrams. Do you know how long that took?”

Mon-el sympathised. Since the downturn in crime, the Martian had been making everyone fill in more and more detailed reports.

“Still nothing exciting?”

“Nada. Apparently, the citizens of National City have taken the spirit of Christmas to heart. I challenge you to find a single person on the naughty list”.

“Then you have time to help me?” Mon-el said as he pulled up a chair and sat down next to Winn.

“What are you up to?” Winn looked suspiciously at him. “Is this to do with Kara? Are you proposing?”

“What? Yes, I mean no… Sort of,” Mon-el scrambled.

“You’re sort of proposing to Kara?!?” Winn’s shocked voice rang out through the DEO.

“Shhhh,” Mon-el hushed Winn, not wanting to bring attention to themselves.

“I’m not proposing to Kara,” Mon-el hesitated before correcting himself, “not yet.”

“But you’ve thought about it?” Winn asked, getting excited by the idea of his two best friends getting married.

It was true that Mon-el had thought about marrying Kara many times. Ever since his first thanksgiving when he spoke to James and Winn about latching, it has been on his mind. He and Kara had faced many hurdles since then and Mon-el could, in hindsight, admit that neither of them was ready for that sort of commitment in those early days but now, now Mon-el felt ready. He wanted Kara to be his wife, his partner, he just wasn’t sure if she wanted that too.

When Mon-el didn’t immediately respond, Winn took it as confirmation. “Dude, this is awesome! I am so happy for you. Do you have a ring?”

“No, no I… that’s not…” Mon-el shook his head, trying to get his thoughts back on track. All this talk of marrying Kara was distracting him.

“That’s not what I wanted your help with,” Mon-el pushed a file of papers towards Winn. “Do you think you could dig through the DEO database and see what you can find out on these?” Winn opened the file and began shuffling through the papers.

“Antarctica? Finland? Europa? Enceladus? What do any of these have to do with each other?” Winn looked at Mon-el, confusion clear on his face.

“I’ll explain later. Meet me at the bar tonight? Kara is having a girl’s night with Alex.”

“Sure,” Winn said, looking back at the file in front of him.

“Thanks. I need to go, I’m meeting Kara for lunch,” Mon-el pushed himself away to from the desk. As he began to stand, Winn grabbed his arm pulling him back.

“Wait! What information do you want? I mean are we talking introductory geography or top secret no-one-should-know sort of stuff?” Winn whispered the last part, not wanting to be overheard.

“Population densities, geography, any satellite, GPR or seismic information. Oh, and if there’s been any UFO sightings,” Mon-el said as he began walking backwards toward the exit.

“How do you know what ground penetrating radar is?” Winn wondered aloud.

“Turns out, books have a lot more useful information than YouTube. I’ll see you tonight,” Mon-el gave Winn a quick wave before disappearing out the door.

Staring at the spot where Mon-el had just been, Winn scratched the side of his head, wondering just what he had gotten himself into. Whatever is was, J’onn wouldn’t approve. He was sure of it.

* * *

When Winn arrived at the alien bar that evening, he found Mon-el sitting at the bar, Zacarian Ale in hand and chatting with Ronda, one of the bartenders he used to work with. Walking towards his friend, Winn waved as a way of greeting before pulling out a stool, preparing to take a seat. Before he could however, Mon-el stood.

“I got to go, but if you need me to come in and cover any shifts, just let me know, I’d be happy to help,” Mon-el addressed Ronda as she placed another pint in front of them. Grabbing both drinks, Mon-el turned to Winn, “Hey, we should probably find somewhere quiet”.

Making their way to the back of the bar, they found an empty booth and both men settled across from each other.

“For you,” Mon-el slid a beer over to Winn.

“Thanks,” Winn took a sip of his drink, relaxing into the soft leather cushions. It had been a long day and he was glad to be free of the DEO for just a little while. “How was lunch?”

“Good. We went to that new Chinese restaurant that just opened up Richards Street, the food was amazing. We should go sometime. You could bring Eve.”

Winn laughed hollowly, “Yeh, I’m not sure that’s ever going happen.”

“You never know until you ask,” Mon-el encouraged.

“You know, some of us aren’t bless with the charms and good looks of a prince,” Winn replied sardonically before changing the subject, not wanting to talk about his failing love life.

“How’s Kara?”

“Stressed. She’s been writing a series highlighting the lives of aliens in the city but every time she submits her article Snapper tells her to re-write it.”

“I thought she’d been given approval by the powers to be,” Winn remembered Kara mentioning it to him a few weeks ago when she has asked if he could search of any “aliens of note” in the DEO database.

“She did, but Snapper doesn’t care. She was so happy the other night when she’d finished it, I just hope she can get it accepted so she can relax.”

“She’ll work it out, she’s Kara.” Winn had complete faith in his best friend.

“Cheers to that,” Mon-el lifted his ale off the table, hitting it against Winn’s before taking a mouthful.

“So, did you get the information?” Mon-el was eager to hear what Winn had managed to find out. Grabbing his messenger bag, Winn took out a number of files and his computer.

“I did, but before I show you anything you have to tell me why we’re doing this, man. If I’m going to break about 100 DEO rules, there’s got to be a good reason”.

“Ok, but promise you won’t laugh.” After Kara’s reaction the previous night, Mon-el was hesitant to share his thoughts even with his closest friends.

“Scouts honor,” Winn said putting three fingers in the air and making the Scout sign.

“You weren’t a Scout.”

“I’ll have you know, I was an Eagle Scout, thank you very much,” Winn puffed out his chest clearly proud of his achievement. Mon-el chuckled shaking his head at Winn’s display before steeling himself for the laughter his next words would surely draw, “I need to find out if Santa exists”.

“What?!” Winn looked at Mon-el like he was a crazy person.

“I have a bet with Kara, I need to find Santa”.

“But, but…” Winn looked at Mon-el stunned. He took a moment to organise his thoughts before responding.

“Mon-el, Santa’s a character, created by Washington Irving in Knickerbocker’s History of New York. Even St. Nick is based on early European deities like Odin. There is nothing, I mean nothing that suggests Santa is anything other than a story.”

Mon-el bristled, “I know that. I’ve read the history and the fables, but Winn, no one’s ever really looked for him. Everything I found in the library was purely academic. No one has put men on the ground and physically searched for him”.

“Because they know it would be a waste of money!” Winn leaning over the table to make his point. Knowing the conversation could quickly turn into an argument, Winn pulled back and took a moment to calm down before continuing, “Look Mon-el, I love you and I get that you want to prove Kara wrong, I even understand why you might want Santa to be real, if there was one kid on earth that wanted Santa to be real it was me, but he’s not”.

“But what if he is?” Mon-el was desperate. He couldn’t do this without Winn’s help. While he could accept the possibility that he was wrong, he needed hard proof. He couldn’t give up, that wasn’t who he was anymore.

“Hear me out,” Mon-el decided that appealing to Winn’s scientific mind was the best chance to get him on board with his plan.

“You work for the DEO, an organisation that deals with aliens capable of flying, turning invisible and walking through walls. Everyday, you see alien tech that is light years ahead of what humans are capable. You, of all people, have to admit that there is a possibility that Santa could be an alien. That there could be something out there that is capable of flight, of shielding itself from the outside world and that could be the person that humans call Santa.”

“I don’t know…” Seeing Winn still looked unconvinced, Mon-el decided to pull out the big guns. “Look, I get you think I’m crazy and maybe I am, but I really need you to help me with this. I can’t do it on my own. I need my best friend. And on the slim chance that we do find Santa, don’t you want to be the guy who made it possible?”

Winn was hesitant. He had given up on believing in Santa a long time ago. He remembered his first Christmas after his father’s imprisonment when he had secretly hoped that Santa might just be real, so someone would give him a gift on Christmas. It didn’t happen. It was the first of many Christmases that he hadn’t receive a present and although he came to terms with it, the memory still hurt.

As he looked into Mon-el’s pleading eyes, Winn wavered. While he didn’t want to see Mon-el’s belief crushed as his was all those years ago, there was a flicker of hope in him that he couldn’t dim. The hope, slim possibility that they would find Santa and no other person would have to go through what he did, what every adult did when they realised that the world wasn’t as good as they believed it was as children.

“Ok, I’ll help, but-” he pointed at his friend to show how serious he was, “ if we don’t find anything we never speak of this again.”

“Deal!” Mon-el responded immediately, his eyes brightening at Winn’s acceptance. “So what have you got?”

Mon-el and Winn spent the rest of the night pouring over the information Winn had found. They decided that the most likely places for “Santa’s Workshop” were Antarctica, Siberia, Greenland or Europa.

While Lapland claimed to be the real home of Santa, Winn surmised that the population density and number of tourists visiting the country every year made it almost impossible for no one to have seen Santa or his elves if they did in fact live there. Northern Canada and Alaska were doubtful locations for similar reasons. With the amount of drilling done in those regions, scientists had a fairly good idea of the geology and neither Winn nor Mon-el could see any cave system or formation that might house a small village.

When at one point Winn asked Mon-el why Europa and Enceladus, one of Saturn’s moons had been in the notes Mon-el had given Winn earlier that day, the Daxamite explained that he read an article suggesting that if Santa was an alien and indeed capable of travelling at light speed then other snowy bodies in the solar system should be considered for this base of operations.

“If Enceladus was the base for an alien race surely you would know though. I mean Imra was from Titan,” Winn reasoned.

“In the 31st century yes, but that doesn’t mean to say there weren’t people living on the Enceladus now. So much history has been lost with time that there’s no real way of knowing.”

Because of this, neither of them could find a reason to cross those locations off the list.

By closing time, Mon-el and Winn had come up with a plan. Mon-el would contact any Saturians in the DEO database to see if they knew anything of their sister moon. He would also speak with a few contacts he had that spent time travelling the solar system and might know more about Europa. In the meantime, Winn would continue to search the DEOand governments database and do what he could to secure the necessary tech they would need to get Operation: “Tiny Tim” up in the air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it. Comments and constructive criticism are most welcome.


	3. Mission Abort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mon-el's first field trip to find St Nick doesn't exactly go to plan.

A week after the start of Operation: Tiny Tim, Mon-el and Winn had made a great deal of progress. Mon-el had located one Saturnian in the database who as luck would have it was in DEO custody. After getting permission from Major Lane to visit the desert HQ, Mon-el spoke with Jemm only to be informed that there was no-one living on Enceladus and while Saturn had the power and technology to defeat even “Supergirl” they would never let others use it nor would they waste their time with “human children scum.”

With Enceladus crossed off the list, Mon-el turned his attention to Europa. Unfortunately, he had even less success there. All his contacts told him the same thing. Jupiter was rarely visited, and no one knew if the planet's icy moon had any inhabitants as no-one had made contact or made themselves known. Although both Winn and Mon-el were keen to explore a new world, the fact they didn’t have a spaceship made the prospect of visiting incredibly difficult. 

They could ‘borrow’ J’onn’s ship but that risked them getting caught. There were also the Kryptonian pods, but they only fitted one person and Mon-el didn’t trust the technology after his last adventure. 

Europa therefore dropped to the bottom of the pile.

That left only the Earth locations which Winn prioritised based on the additional information he’d gathered from top secret DEO files and old Area 51 reports. Antarctica was at the top of the list closely followed by Greenland and Siberia. 

Despite Antarctica being the most likely for the location of Santa’s workshop, Rovaniemi in Lapland was the first place Mon-el searched. They both agreed that even though it was unlikely to be anything more than a tourist trap, they wanted to officially cross it off the list. Winn also argued it would be as good a place as any for them to refine their search technique.

It was that decision which had led to Mon-el having to sweet talk the Finnish military into letting him out of their custody. Everything had been going well for the pair all week, so neither of them had expected that by the end of the night Mon-el would be walking away from Winn’s apartment with an official warning letter from the Finnish Government.

* * *

Mon-el arrived at Winn’s apartment at 8 PM on the dot. Knocking he waited anxiously as his friend opened the door and invited him inside. 

“So you ready for tonight?”, Winn asked excitedly.

“Born ready,” Mon-el replied confidently.

Missions were one of the few places where Mon-el felt truly useful, and where, thanks to Kara’s training, he knew he could make a difference and succeed. Sure sometimes things didn’t go to plan and people got hurt, but wearing his super suit Mon-el felt strong. It may have taken him a while, even years to become the man he was, but he could now proudly say that he was the hero that Kara believed he could be. 

“So I have everything set up, I just need to explain how things work and then we’re good to go.”

Winn walked towards his dining room table which had become the command base for the evening. The surface was covered by a laptop, 3 monitors, various gadgets and enough junk food to turn even Kara diabetic. Picking up what looked like military grade night vision googles Winn passed them to Mon-el.

“So, these are X-Ray goggles. They’re based on Kara’s vision so you should be able to see through any object or surface and tell if anything's hiding.”

Giving the goggles a quick once over Mon-el pulled the straps over his head. Once they were properly fitted he did a slow spin.

“Nothing looks different.”

“That’s cause you need to turn them on. Hold on.” Winn moved to stand next to Mon-el, “There’s a switch on the right-hand side, here-” Winn placed Mon-el’s hand on the button “-that will turn them on and off.”

As soon as the googles turned on Mon-el’s vision changed completely. Instead of seeing defined objects his saw layers of images all slightly unfocused. Realising he needed to let his eyes get used to the tech and only focus on one layer at a time the images slowly began to become clearer. 

“This is awesome!” 

“What can you see?” Winn asked wanting to make sure the goggles were working properly.

“I see a guy in the building about a mile away, he’s talking to his cleaner. No, wait…… oh… oh you don’t want to know.” Mon-el quickly turned his head so he didn’t have to see the result of that particular exchange. 

“How far down can you see?” Winn said all business.

“The parking garage but after that it’s just black apart from the odd pole every now and then.”

“That’s the foundation rods, that’s good. It looks likes they’re working properly.” Winn made a note on his computer, recording what Mon-el said for future reference. Mon-el continued to look around getting used to his new visual range. It wasn’t until his eyes fell on Winn that he was stopped in his tracks.

“Oh wow! When Kara says she can see everything she really can see everything.” Mon-el couldn’t help but look Winn up and down.

“What you do you mean everything?” As the words escaped his mouth Winn looked up to see Mon-el checking him out. It was then that the penny dropped.

“Wait…. are you… can you? Dude, stop checking me out!” Winn protested, putting his hands over the zipper of his jeans even though it was useless. “Oh my god, Kara?! Do you think? No, no, no no…” 

Mon-el couldn’t help but laugh at panicked and distressed look on Winn’s face. He was almost certain that Kara could alter her vision to ensure she didn’t see anything she didn’t want to but Mon-el was having too much fun to tell Winn that.

“Can you turn around?!” Winn said throwing his hands up in despair, releasing he had probably taken it too far, Mon-el turned and tried to calm Winn down.

“Is there a way to alter the vision settings on these?”

“On the left side of the goggles there’s a dial. If you turn that and it will change your vision. Four clicks forward and it’ll be your normal range.” Winn explained still red from what Mon-el had seen. 

Mon-el briefly tried out the different settings before taking the goggles off and putting them back on the table.

“No more goggles until you get to Finland,” Winn commanded.

“Yes, sir!” Mon-el gave him a mock salute. “What else have you got?”

Winn went over to the table and picked up what Mon-el could only describe as an ‘etch a sketch’.

“This baby here is a GPS and anti-cloaking device.” Turning it on he tilted the screen towards Mon-el.

“The screen will show you if there are any heat signatures or temperature variations in the area you are pointing it towards. It also detects chemical or physical anomalies. The dials on the left will let you zoom in and out on any signal and button on the right should de-cloak anything in the area.” Winn demonstrated how it worked. 

“What’s the black dot?”

“That’s your GPS location. If you need me to, I can control the device while you’re flying as I’ll see the same thing on my screens here,” Winn pointed to the three screens he had set up.

“I wanted to put all this into the goggles but I didn’t have time, for now you’re just going to have to carry it.” Winn said looking disappointed in himself.

“Dude, this is incredible. You did a good job!” Mon-el patted Winn making it clear how proud he was of what he’d achieved in less than a week.

“Anything else?” Mon-el said eager to get the mission going.

“I will give you comms so we can communicate but other than that we’re good to go. Suit up!”

Winn finished with his favourite catchphrase, a huge smile on his face.

Mon-el disappeared into Winn’s bathroom, quickly changing into his iconic red suit. By the time he was back Winn had a backpack ready with the two new devices he’d created inside.

“This should sit comfortably under your cape so you don’t have to carry anything in your hands.” 

He handed the bag to Mon-el who slipped the straps on his shoulders before taking the ear piece from Winn. After one last check that everything was working, Mon-el left the apartment and headed for the roof. 

“Ready?” Mon-el asked Winn through the comms. 

“Let’s do this!” Winn responded before hearing the distinct ‘whoosh’ that always came when Supergirl or Valor; as the public called Mon-el took off.

* * *

An hour later Mon-el had surveyed the northern part of Finland, including the supposed home of Santa, Rovaniemi, and found nothing, no secret caves, towns or even creatures. 

“Winn there’s nothing here.”

“Yeh, but we didn’t expect there to be. At least we’ve got the survey technique down,” Winn tried to be positive.

“Should we carry on or call it a night?” Mon-el was wary to fly any further south knowing they were getting closer to more and more densely populated areas.

“Go as far as Jyvaskyla and then we’ll call it. Oh, and maybe skip Vaasa. We don’t want to risk you being labelled as a UFO.”

“Copy that” Mon-el replied, turning around and starting his next sweep. As he approached the west coast Mon-el heard something out of the ordinary.

“Winn, can you check and see if anything is tailing me?” Winn shoved the twizzler he had been eating in his mouth and started typing furiously, bringing up the radar.

“There are two aircraft approaching you from the north, they have military signatures Mon-el, abort, abort!” 

Mon-el took the goggles off as quickly as he could manage and tossed them into the backpack with the scanner. Turning around, he threw himself forward hoping to pick up enough speed that the planes couldn’t keep up. Just as he thought he was free and clear another jet approached him from the opposite direction. 

“Winn!” 

“Dude, I’m sorry that jet came out of nowhere!”

“Are there anymore coming?” Mon-el questioned, keeping a cool head despite the situation.

“Not that I can-” Winn’s was interrupted by a unfamiliar voice.

“This is the Finnish Air Force, you are in restricted airspace. Identify yourself or we will shoot.”

“Mon-el get out of there. I know your bulletproof but we don’t need a demonstration!” Mon-el shot up in the air hoping the planes wouldn’t attempt to follow him but it was no use.

“Winn, patch me through to the pilot, I can’t outrun them.”

“What? No–” Winn was panicking. It hadn’t even crossed his mind that he might need to ask for permission for Mon-el to fly over Finland. How could he be so stupid?

“Winn it’s fine,” Mon-el tried to reassure his friend. He had been in far worse situations than this. Right now he need the tech genius to stay calm and be ready for whatever the military might throw at them.

Once Winn had made the patch Mon-el spoke.

“This is Valor, a superhero from National City. I mean no harm.” After a moment of static the Finnish pilot's voice once again rang out over the comms.

“Valor, we have been requested to escort you to our airbase for questioning. You have been flying in restricted airspace. Do you comply?” Mon-el slowed his flight, allowing the planes to catch up with him, silently showing his surrender.

“I comply,” he affirmed before asking Winn to cut the link to the pilot. As soon as he did, Winn started shouting in Mon-el’s ear.

“Mon-el you can’t do this! You have tech with you and if J’onn finds out we’re toast!”

“I’ll drop the tech before I get to the base and J’onn won’t find out. Did you forget I’m the former Prince of Daxam? Diplomacy is my middle name,” Mon-el tried to lighten the situation.

“I’m not sure your mom’s diplomacy will work here,” Winn groaned putting his head in his hands, he couldn’t believe this had happened.

“I just dropped the bag, can you note the co-ordinates?” 

“Got them.” Winn marked the map where Mon-el had just been. It looked like a forested area on the border of farmland close to the airbase. Winn hoped that that the pilots hadn’t noticed and that the tech had survived. It hadn’t been easy for him to acquire the bits he needed to make the gadgets and he doubted he could get replacements. 

Winn watched with bated breath as he saw the dot that was Mon-el freeze on the screen. He had landed.

“You ok?”

“I’ve got about 100 rifles pointing at me but I’m fine,” came Mon-el’s response. 

When he had landed on the tarmac of the base a caravan of cars had appeared and surrounded him. Soldiers scrambled out as quickly as they could manage, training their guns on the superhero. Putting his hands in the air as a sign of surrender Mon-el took a careful step towards the person who appeared to be in charge.

“I mean no harm. This is just a misunderstanding,” he spoke in a voice that he hoped was soothing.

“Stop walking. Get down on your hands and knees.” Mon-el complied, carefully crouching down. As soon as his hands were on the ground, a flurry of soldiers approached and he was forced into handcuffs. Pulling him to his feet, they escorted him toward one of the waiting vehicles so they could take him to the base for questioning.

* * *

“What were you doing flying in Finnish airspace?” The officer in front of him took a seat at the table, levelling him with a stern look.

“Would you believe me if I said that I was here to visit Santa?” Mon-el gave them a charming smile.

“You came to see Santa Claus?” 

“I heard that Finland was home to the big guy, and I wanted to meet him,” Mon-el shrugged lifting his cuffed hands in the air slightly.

“I will ask you again, why are you here?” The officer punctuated each word getting frustrated by Mon-el’s answers.

“Like I said, it’s Christmas and what better way to get into the spirit than to meet St. Nick himself?” 

Mon-el knew it was a gamble, playing the cocky and arrogant superhero, but he hoped that if he kept it up long enough, they would get tired and let him go. Winn on the other hand wasn’t convinced.

“Mon-el be careful. This isn’t a game,” Winn’s voice came through his earpiece.

The officer studied Mon-el for a moment before leaning forward and asking a different question, hoping to get a sensible answer. “According to our records you can fly, are invulnerable, you are fast and possess superhuman strength. Is that correct or is there more?” 

Mon-el smirked seeing an opportunity to have some fun and to play into the arrogant persona he was portraying. “I’ve been told I have amazing stamina too.” The officer sighed, Finland didn’t have any superheroes of their own at the moment and the officer couldn’t help but be grateful given the attitude that Valor had displayed thus far.

“Do you have any alien technology on you?”

“I don’t. The suits very form fitting,” Mon-el looked down at the red material that hugged his chest before directing his gaze to the officer once again. “It doesn’t leave room for anything else. You’re welcome to pat me down to make sure,” Mon-el made a move to stand up before being forced back into his seat by one of the guards standing in the room's corner.

“Valor if you don’t co-operate with us then I will not hesitate to throw you in a cell, and contact the DEO, do you understand?” 

Knowing he was playing a very dangerous game, Mon-el heeded Winn’s words. “I understand. Just please don’t contact the DEO, they don’t know I’m here.”

“You’re working alone?” 

“Yes. I’m here on personal business,” Mon-el confessed.

Seeing they were finally getting an honest answer from the Daxamite, the officer produced Mon-el’s Legion ring which had been taken from him when he arrived on the base.

“What is this?” The officer placed the ring on the table in front of Mon-el. Instinctively he reached out to touch it.

“It’s a ring.”

“Just a ring?”, the officer challenged.

“Yes.” It was a bald-faced lie but there was no way that Mon-el could reveal the true purpose or meaning of the ring. 

“What do the lines and star mean?” Winn who was still listening held his breath, hoping that Mon-el could come up with a believable story.

“The star is actually a comet. It represents my girlfriend. I once told her that her eyes reminded me of comets.” A small smile appeared on Mon-el’s face as he remembered the day he had first told Kara that. While the rejection that came after his confession had not been pleasant, the comment about her eyes had stuck with both of them and had since become a pet name for her.

“And the lines?” the officer pressed.

“The lines make an L, see?” Mon-el picked up the ring and traced the letter on the design. “It stands for love.”

“So this is a promise ring?” The officer took the piece of jewellery from Mon-el and turned it over in their hands. 

“Of a sort.” Considering his words for a moment, the officer stood closing their fist around the ring before addressing the superhero.

“I will be back in a minute.” Mon-el watched as the officer and guards left the room. Letting out a sigh of relief, Mon-el turned his attention to his comms.

“Winn you still there?” he whispered, trying to move his mouth as little as possible.

“I’m still with you, buddy. Amazing lie by the way saying the Legion logo was to do with Kara.”

“It wasn’t a total lie,” Mon-el admitted.

“Seriously?!?” Winn couldn’t contain his surprise.

“The L stands for Legion but the comet….” Mon-el trailed off. 

“Does Kara know? Cause I’m fairly sure if you told her she would fall even more in love with you.”

At that moment the door to the interrogation room opened, and the officer returned with some papers in hand. Placing two identical documents and a pen on the table they slid it towards Mon-el.

“While we don’t believe you are here to see Santa Claus, we have no evidence to suggest you mean us any harm. There are some of us that want to keep you here for further questioning but we do not have the facilities to hold a superhero like yourself. So, we will let you go on the condition that you sign these documents acknowledging you have read and received this warning letter and agree to never enter Finnish airspace again without the correct documentation.”

“Of course,” Mon-el quickly picked up one of the letters and read it at speed before signing the bottom of both. Handing over one letter and his ring, the officer unlocked Mon-el’s handcuffs before gesturing towards the door.

“I will escort you to the airstrip. I expect you know your way home from there,” Mon-el nodded grateful the ordeal was over with.

By the time Mon-el picked up the bag he’d dropped and made his way back to National City, Winn had made his way to the roof of his apartment.

As soon as Mon-el landed Winn began apologising. “It’s my fault, I’m sorry. I should have known we would need permission,” Mon-el cut him off.

“You’re not to blame. I should’ve expected it too. We may need to look at some cloaking device for next time,” Mon-el and Winn headed towards the door that would lead them inside.

“I’ll look at it first thing tomorrow,” Winn promised, making a note on his tablet. 

Looking back up he turned towards the Daxamite, “At least we learnt one thing tonight.”

“Never leave American airspace?” Mon-el joked. 

Winn couldn’t help but laugh. “No, Santa doesn’t live in Finland.”

“One down, four to go,” Mon-el said while slinging his arm around Winn’s shoulder. The evening may not have gone as either of them had expected but Mon-el was glad that he had Winn by his side. He knew that Winn only really saw this as an opportunity to test his new tech, that he believed they wouldn’t find Santa but he was grateful that his friend was at least humouring him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise if I made any geographical or technological mistakes. There will be more MonWinn to come :). I hope you liked it.
> 
> Once again comments are most welcome.


End file.
